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Topic: Old oil question. New C5 (Read 625 times)

I bought a 2010 model C5 that was new/never sold. I just got done putting in the first 300 miles. I did the oil change today and noticed something. The drain plug had a thicker glob of oil sitting on it that needed wiped off. My concern is that because the bike sat at the dealer for 2 years before being sold, that the oil partially separated due to sitting for prolonged periods of time. I asked the dealer if they should change the oil right away because of this, but they said the oil should be fine. The bike runs fine, but now I have this picture of a thin layer of oil sludge sitting in the bottom of the engine case. Should I be concerned? If so, what courses of action should I take? Is there a solvent I should add to try and break up the any sludge that might be there? I moved out of state from the dealer I bought it from, so working with them is not an option.

Seeing that this was your first oil change, it's possible that you were seeing some of the strange stuff that is often found.

For the moment, I'm guessing this glob was on the screen inlet filter that is on the lower drain plug with the two screws retaining it? If so, your glob is not nearly as disconcerting as what I found on mine on its first oil change.

There was some sort of clothlike material clinging to the screen.I was so concerned that I called my dealer and asked him about it. He said finding stuff like mine had wasn't unusual. I asked him about the possibility that the oil flow had been restricted to the point that some damage due to low oil pressure might exist.He then told me that if there was enough oil pressure to keep the hydraulic valve lifters from clattering then the rest of the engine was fine.8000+ miles later, it seems that he was right.

Engine oil doesn't separate over time. Even the cheapest ones.As for your glob, assuming you totally removed it, don't worry about it. Your engine is fine. It is very unlikely that another glob is lurking in the sump and the likelyhood of causing some real problems by using an oil flush in your engine is more likely to damage it than just waiting until your next oil change.

If you are the worrying type who can't let go of the idea that something needs to be flushed out then just ride your motorcycle for a few hundred miles and then drain and refill the oil sump. Don't bother with the filter at this change. Just check the screen on the oil inlet and clean it. Then, carefully refill with new oil.

Oh. By the way. After my first oil change, there was never another bit of clothlike material found on my pump inlet screen. Just some metal filings on both of the drain magnets.

Thanks for the feedback. I did find some teeny tiny bits of stuff like you described on my inlet filter screen. The glob was on the drain plug itself. I may not have run the bike long enough to warm the oil sufficiently. I ran it at idle for five minutes, but it was barely room temperature, if that. The exhaust pipe was hot enough to burn my forearm though. Lol! I didn't know even cheap oil was stable enough not to separate. Sounds like everything is fine. I'm looking forward to putting the next 300 miles on it and then being able to run it at higher speeds more regularly.

Due to the engines design, the oil lubricates everything including the transmission gears, the primary drive and wet clutch. Some of the oil in the engine gets trapped in the engine sidecovers and refuses to totally drain out during an oil change.

About the last thing I would want left in my engine is some flush mixed in with the oil that didn't drain out. Depending on what it is made from, there is also a good possibility that it will damage the wet plate clutch and the highly loaded gears in the transmission.